ia Si

out of t

he journalists turned. Ashton's face went pale, then flushed with a rising tide of anger that I could see spreading up from his collar like a stain. B

buted to a Roman workshop for over a century. I spent eighteen months working with forensic archaeologists and metallurgists at the University of Athens to authenticate its true origin. We used X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to analyze the trace el

ilence of a moment that everyone in the room understands will be remembered. The journalists turned to look at m

atrical tremble. "Who is this w

. It was the smile he wore when he was about to make someone disappear-from a deal,

me nor the place. You've had too

membered what it sounded like. "I'm Claudia Sims. I was the lead curator and authenticator for the Artemis Collection. Bianca Burks was brought on as a public face. I'm happy to provide you

henticated the lost Caravaggio in Naples? The David with the Head of Go

e s

brated to hurt without leaving a mark that would be visible in the morning. I had felt that grip before, i

still fixed on his face. He dragged me through a side door into an empty corridor. The door s

re engraved on plaques throughout the museum. They stared at us with blank stone eyes as Ashto

you think you're

heart hammering against my ribs, but I would not let him see it.

dor! That's how this wor

ussed it. You informe

re a consultant, Claudia. A freelancer. I pay you for your expertise. That do

r he had ever "paid" me-every check he had written with such magnanimous flourish-had co

lready reddening, the imprint of his

about this tomorrow, when you've calmed d

g home, Ashto

across his handsome features. He looked like a man who had been walking confidently

at does t

. The engagement is off.

idn't run. Running would have given him the satisfaction of seeing me rattled. I walked with my spine straight a

me, sharp with command. "Claudia,

ed through the heavy door, and stepped out into the cold October night. The air hit my face like

at kingdom, in a penthouse apartment I hadn't visited in five years, there was a man who

ipstick I never wore, and my finger